The other day in class, we were given the opportunity to do a little digging in to the roots of the clothes we were wearing. We wanted to know who made, where it was made, and what the conditions are like for those who stitch the clothes on our backs. That day, I was wearing a t-shirt made Hanes, which said it was made in the Dominican Republic. So, in my exploration for answers about the factories in teh Dominican Republic, I checked a couple of sources.
I first looked at Hanes' website. They had a quite positive approach to how their factories are run, and how they appear. They provide this video.
Tropical music playing, palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze. The video shows the beauty of the land, and how happy the workers are, and how much room they have to breathe and relax. Wow, working there must seem like a vacation. Right?
Wrong.
I looked further into the issue, and discovered that working for Hanes isn't paradise. Not at all. When workers for Hanes attempted to form a union, Hanes pretended to be on board, however the minute it looked as if a union could actually be successful for the workers, they hired a lawyer to fight it. (Read about it here.) Hanes has also been linked to a so called "Rape Factory" in Jordan, where tons of young women are being abused.
Says the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights: "cases of of abuse have been documented since at least 2007; inhabitable dormitories, 13-18 hour work days, unfair wages, physical mistreatment, and sexual exploitation all frequent the worker's accusations"
I find it odd and disturbing that when someone attempts to fidn information on the article of clothing they are wearing, the first source they would find is a statement made by the company itself. It is a skewed, biased point of view toward their controversial issues. The story they created is almost as flimsy as the shirt they sold me. So where does the truth lie?
I like your link to the video Allison. It was really interesting to see what executives had to say about their "wonderful" company. I think big companies like this go into struggling areas and claim to "rebuild" their community, when in reality they're just trying to take advantage of a poor and uneducated group of people. Because once those people start to realize what they're missing, Hanes starts to fight the community they "helped restore".
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that the first worker interviewed thanked God and Hanesbrands in the same sentence, somehow equivocating the two. With facades like this video, Hanes thinks it can get away with the "Rape Factories" you mentioned in Jordan. What Hanes fails to see, however, is that this video only makes people think that the working conditions are too good to be true. And if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
ReplyDeleteA. Mac,
DeleteLove the title! This is a very nice post, a strong analysis with good supporting media. You might really benefit from images and some type face choices to help your reader out a little further. Overall, though, very good work!